What is I-O?

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology is the scientific study of working and the application of that science to workplace issues facing individuals, teams, and organizations.
The scientific method is applied to investigate issues of critical relevance to individuals, businesses, and society.

The Handbook of Workplace Assessment (Pfeiffer, 2010) was edited by John C. Scott, COO of APTMetrics, and Douglas H. Reynolds, vice president of Assessment Technology at Development Dimensions International and leverages the thinking of a world-renowned group of authors to present cutting-edge theory and practice in the field of assessment.

The R. Wayne Pace HRD Book of the Year Award is presented by the Academy of Human Resource Development for the outstanding book that advances the theory and/or practice of the profession. Books submitted for consideration for the award focus on human resource development, organization development, personnel training and development, or more specific HRD areas. Winning books must also be grounded in a sound foundation of theory and/or research, address a topic of timely importance, suggest new thinking about the topic, and challenge current values, beliefs, and assumptions.

Given the trend for organizations to streamline their workforces and focus on acquiring and retaining only top talent, a key challenge has been how to use assessment programs to deliver a high-performing workforce that can drive revenues, shareholder value, growth, and long-term sustainability. The Handbook of Workplace Assessment directly addresses this challenge by presenting sound, evidence-based, and practical guidance for implementing assessment processes that will lead to exceptional decisions about people. The chapters in the book provide a wide range of perspectives from a world-renowned group of authors and reflect cutting-edge theory and practice.

The Handbook of Workplace Assessment also provides the framework for what should be assessed and why and shows how to ensure that assessment programs are of the highest quality; reviews best practices for assessing capabilities across a wide variety of positions; summarizes key strategic applications of assessment that include succession management, mergers, acquisitions and downsizings, identification of potential, and selection on a global scale; and highlights advances, trends, and issues in the assessment field, including technology-based assessment, the legal environment, alternative validation strategies, flaws in assessment, and the strategic use of evaluation to link assessment to organizational performance.

The Handbook of Workplace Assessment was also recently selected by the Cornell University Library as a “Book of the Month” feature. Reynolds and Scott join previous SIOP winners James W. Smither, LaSalle University, and Manuel London, State University of New York, for Performance Management: Putting Research Into Action (2009 winner).